Phoenix man accused of killing ex-girlfriend with a hammer

It's a grisly crime: a young mother was murdered inside a Phoenix home while her 3-year-old daughter was in another room.

Police say Veronica McGarvy's killer is her ex-boyfriend and the father of her child.

25-year-old Caleb Shaffery is accused of a gruesome crime: luring his McGarvy into a bedroom, bashing her skull with a hammer and stabbing her with a knife.

According to police, Shaffery admitted to inviting McGarvy to his Phoenix home and luring her into his bedroom, leaving their daughter in an another room. Shaffery then attacked McGarvy with a hammer and knife, which he had kept hidden from her. After the murder, he then walked their daughter to a neighbor's house.

Police say Shaffery called his mother after the killing and admitted to her what he had done. He later called 9-1-1. Police discovered McGarvy's body -- a hammer embedded in her skull and a knife nearby.

Shaffery said nothing at his initial court appearance.

His mother told police the suspect had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder two years ago and suffers from depression. She said the former couple had a volatile relationship and that Shaffery may have snapped after he found out McGarvy was dating a former co-worker of his.

Police say Shaffery admitted to planning the murder, that he'd been wanting to kill McGarvy for some time and that he also admitted he chose a roofing hammer to kill her because "it would be an efficient murder tool with less effort than using a knife."

Shaffery is facing one count of first-degree murder. He's being held on a $1 million bond.